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Wake Up, David Moyes!
Comments (40) : But his biggest nightmare has been the fact he just hasn’t got the best out of the threadbare squad he has. In seasons past he motivated and drove mediocre players into 120% x 100 minutes men. Today, the same players are a shadow of that era. Gone is the work rate, the basics are all over the place, and the eleven on the pitch look as though they have never played together.
So what’s gone wrong with Moyes the Messiah?
Some of the desperation of team line-ups make no sense; playing a single striker when we have three available, leaving youngsters to get carved up by class players, disgraceful tactics and poor judgement.
His body language is appalling at the moment: no animation, arms folded in the dugout, resignation in his eyes. He has reached his Waterloo and he is falling woefully short. It's not all his fault, though... and yes, with such a threadbare squad, the injuries have been — and still are — horrendous... but the gamble that he has been part of with Bill Kenwright to minimise expenditure and make do with prudent management has seriously backfired this season.
If I was David Moyes right now, I would pull in the senior players and tell them straight: perform or go. Because what we are being served by some of those stars is nothing short of awful. They should not be paid for what they have served up. No leadership, guts, or work-rate.
Everton have always had their fair share of journeymen, experienced players near the end of their playing days, but ones who can keep their heads and lead. We don’t have them anymore. Not one. Now it's half a dozen mediocre players and kids. I sometimes wonder if they all train together...
Our so called stars, what few we allegedly do have, should stand up and be counted right now. When we need it. One thing is sure, whoever is running the team next year needs to rebuild it. Moyes has reached the peak of his ability with Everton; he will never manage a top-four team in the EPL because his tactics are non-existent. Can you image a Chelsea or Arsenal under Moyes? Do you think a Man U or a Man City would have him? No, it's back to Scotland for David Moyes. Big Fish, little pond.
And that’s sad, because he did take Everton out of the crap it was in, but he has never been able to take it further. When asking why that is, one has to remember the turmoil of the boardroom, the dreadful management of the club in general and the alienation of the fans themselves by the derisory actions of the Executives and Chairman of the club in gagging its own shareholders, being less than fully honest and open about all things Kirkby, and of course by sticking to a poor choice of relocation when every foundation stone they built their case upon has disintegrated.
It's hardly a wonder then that the team and the club is where it is today. Before I hear the cry,"But we are broke!" — just remember that the Chief Executive Officer has said we have the money (£70M) upfront for the cost of Kirkby, once they get the go ahead. Ask Moyes where they got it from?
Ask the 26,000 or so Everton fans who bothered to turn up for the game against Benfica, are you watching Bill? 10,000 Evertonians have voted with their feet. Where it hurts. Just what the hell do you think a November night in Kirkby would get?
Moyes needs to give the team what Joe Royle gave us when we needed it. Fire in the belly, the Dogs of War, not pretty but damn, we didn’t fall out of the Premier League.
To continue the way we are going is relegation material. Those who say we always start badly but come back are missing the point. We have done it once too often but this time getting out of jail just gets harder by the day with no sign of our injury list decreasing in the immediate future, no spark in the team and no solutions from the manager.
You may think I am doing a hatchet job on Moyes but I’m not; I do think he is shrewd and has built a strong team from not much, but he has failed to rebuild it or even restructure it by supplementing it. The reasons for this must be coming home to him now. The lack of investment, the promise of support from the board, the trust in Bill Kenwright have gotten David Moyes, The Club, and the team where they are today.
Most important, however, is what can he do about it?
If he has no faith in any of his strikers, drop them and put Cahill back up front. Why? Because at least we will probably win a few games that we may truly be thankful of. Drop Fellaini he just hasn’t got it and never will. He and Cahill in the same team doesn’t work and frankly Cahill is better suited to where Fellaini plays. I think this is the reason Cahill's form has been poor this season, he looks a different player in the National team.
Drop Yobo and put Neill at centre-back, sweeping behind Baines, Distin and Hibbert. Leave Hettinga in centre midfield, he lacks pace but can tackle and can distribute. Drop Gosling, he is going to burn out this season and will fall by the wayside if he isn’t used properly. Youth without good guidance is futile.
Replace Round with a good tactician / coach... Immediately! Moyes needs to kick some butts and quick. He needs to be seen doing it to avoid the complacency. The cost of not doing it is not worth contemplating.
Time to step up, David Moyes!
Reader Comments
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We are in the deep stuff and something needs to be done about it. Going to Goodison this year has been boring. Simple stuff has been sadly lacking.
Our kick offs for example are shocking. Pass back to Hibbert/Yobo/Baines and WELLY. Benfica on Thursday from their kick off calmly passed the ball about.
Our throw in’s are even worse. Throw the ball in the air, onto Felliani who flicks the ball on to know one.
Yobo does hoof it but feck me not one of our forwards/midfielders moves.
Our forward and midfield are 40 yards apart.
2 holding midfielders against Wolves was the staw that broke my back.
We need some vision, some kind of plan because we are severely lacking in all areas of the football club.
Ryan, can you let me know why Cahill would have a "titty lip" because Lescott left? The same Lescott that gifted Burnley a penalty today with a handball?
The reason he is playing shite is predominantly because he is way out of his strongest position and, despite his proven prowess with his head, if he stands one to one with a towering centre half, he usually loses as his ability is to ghost into the box unmarked and head the ball and not the new DM trademark hoof to a player with his back to goal over and fucking over.
Bar a few games which have mainly been at GP, most games have been defensive. Get a goal & defend. As Christine says above, Moyes strives to get 100% from, in all honesty, fairly average players.
When the team is at the top end of the Prem, when the GP crowd is at its hostile best and when the players have total confidence is their ability Moyes job is fairly easy.
Well, at the moment, Moyes’s job is not easy and boy is he lacking. Big time. As for attacking games, forget it, our injuries will not allow this. To be honest I should imagine our current players are thinking "fuck me, five defensive midfielders — that will definItely scare them"
Unfortunately, I think things are going change — very soon.
Christine, we always share many of the same views but I do not think it's time to jump on Moyes because as you say he looks like a beaten man right now. I feel we need something to lift the fans and get them behind the team as they were against Villa.
By comparison the fans seemed to be defeated by Benefica more so than the players. All of this while the main culprit gets off so lightly.
Yes I’m talking about "Bullshit" Billy who has still got me watching this space for the last 2 years. The only space appears to be the money coming in to the club and the money being spent on players (Zero). With Afcon coming up, I hold no optimism for the rest of the season and as you say it may be a real Dogs of War requirement.
1. Moyes is playing him all over the pitch. This is after saying that he doesn't see him as a midfielder but as a striker. We all know he certainly isn't any sort of midfielder, he can't control the ball and he can't pass.
2. Maybe he’s got a titty lip that players are coming in and earning more money and he’s seen what his mate Joeleon is earning at Man City.
Bottom line, he’s shit at the moment and needs a real kick up the arse.
Imagine Howard Kendall asking Peter Reid to play right wing? Or asking Sharpy to play midfield... just unthinkable, but that's what's happening now. Taking off midfielders and replacing them with forward players.
As for Fellaini, when he plays in a 4-5-1 behind the front man, it's just like watching a 4-4-2 because he has not got the stamina to come back and help out as Timmy does. It showed in the cup final, Osman had to come inside, leaving Hibbert isolated, because Fellaini just stayed on Saha's shoulder.
I watched the Derby - Coventry game and that arsehole Savage does more than Fellaini does.
Implicit in this appears to be an acceptance that we are not ever going to make the top four with the Board (and manager) we have, so we should focus upon fighting and battling to maintain the equilibrium (or stave off relegation perhaps?).
I’ll admit I’ve had a couple of drinks, but this piece does seem oddly contradictory...
Not that I don't agree with you — it's more your name, you hollywood superstar, LoL!
I did enjoy Christine's post; however, why do we have to mention Kirkby in every main post?
The crowds will go if we are playing well and they won't if we aren't, nothing to do with Goodison or Kirkby.
Saying that, I think anyone currently with one of the many obstructed views should actually be paying more...
Now dont get me wrong, I love Cahill, but he is Moyes’s first name on the teamsheet every week, when he should be the first name on the BENCH every week!
Colin, you are complaining that Cahill is being asked to play on the right?!?! Well, isn't that where he made his name for Milwall? Fact is, wherever he has played this season, he's been poor. And I don't care if he's asked to play in defence, one thing I wanna see is a bit of fight, especially if you’re wearing the captain's armband!
As for Fellaini, he may make some mistakes, but he's trying to get the ball down and play proper football, along the deck unlike some of the clowns we have just playing hoof ball!!! Fellaini, with a positive, attacking manager and decent players around him, would be class!
I love Moyes, but I guarantee someone like Bilic as our boss with our squad, we would play quality attacking football!!!
There so many pro-Kirkby that don't go to Goodison.
KEIOC
Like a certain Dan Brierley, constantly telling us from the other side of the world why Kirkby is right for the club, off the dubious information the club has given.
My point is that why do we have to keep mentioning it in every thread? The decision is now out of our hands. I wont be happy about the move; however, I will still go.
How many pro-Kirkby don't go to Goodison? Put some substance on your comment.
That's a key reason why we are where we are today. It's not his fault nor is it down to him because of the injuries, but it is up to him to get a team of players who can play football on the pitch.
To that extent, David Moyes has fallen short this season despite all the many financial distractions the club may have.
Cahill hasn’t played well in Everton's colours this season yet his form for the national side is impressive; he is continually their talisman and yet he looks out of position in the Blues team. So why is that?
Andy, there is no single person to blame and Moyes has achieved to a certain level but has been constrained by financial reality. But in assessing his qualities, how long can it go on?
You can line up the club, the team, the manager and each has a proportion of guilt in where we are today.
Misfortune has been compounded by bad management, poor tactics and a lack of players' commitment.
I do believe Moyes has reached a peak with us and the team does need restructuring. I just don’t see his heart in it.
Cahill does play out of position for Everton. But Cahill's best position is behind the striker in a defensive, hoof ball 4-5-1 formation. Is that what you want?
Osman has played out of position for years, his best position would be at the tip of a diamond formation. BUT that is not the best formation for Everton, and he isn't good enough to build a team around him.
Is Cahill good enough to build the team around him? NO.
Impact sub should be his future.
With Pienaar and Arteta out, arguably our most creative players, neither Distin or Yobo seem to posses a passing ability from the back. Yobo and Distin usually smash it up at the first chance they get. Well some might argue this is Moyes's fault as he has not bought players that can keep it on the deck.
Again I will say this but Fellaini and Cahill cannot pass and move or play clever balls. Watching a few games recently — Benfica, Bolton, and Wolves — Yakubu and Saha seem frustrated as they have to drop much deeper to get the ball.
THE DECISION WAS NEVER IN OUR HANDS. IT WAS BENT/SHAM.
Put some substantiation on your comment on how many pro-Kirkby don't go to Goodison?
Simple, Is it tribal? YES... How many trains go to Kirkby? ONE... How many trains go to Sandhills, Kirkdale, Bankhall? Lost count. Home and away supporters will be traveling on the ONE train.
I take my daughter to Goodison and no way will I take her to the Tescodome. YET but business is business and they don't give a fuck for me.
How many trains go to Kirkby? ONE.
If Kirkby gets the go ahead it means Tesco have its own health and safety laws, unbeknown to Brussels.
Is it just me, or does my memory escape me in thinking that where we are today is a hell of alot better than we where before Moyes? Yes things aren’t going to plan on the pitch at the moment but I’d like to see how the likes of Liverpool would be if Gerrard, Torres and Carra all had cruciate knee ligament injurys all in the space of a few months? We have quality players that Moyes has bought but there all friggen injured! Wouldn’t we all prefare Moyes to spend 10M plus on one quality player rather than buy 2 or 3 mid table players? I can’t believe some of the Moyes bashers on this site. Give Moyes the right financial backing and you would have a quality side playing quality football, just like when we had all our best players fit but better and more consistant. Don’t know why i’m bothering posting this but i’m ready for the onslaught haha bring it on.
I was nodding in agreement as I read your article but the further I got the more your logic seemed to disintegrate. I can only assume your frustration has finally got the better of you,
You call for DM to step up to the plate today, but when offering solutions you seem to have completely forgotten the situation we are in now, the reason you posted in the first place.
Our defence has been in disarray lately, but that’s what happens when you continually have to alter your back four, that’s been forced upon us recently, but now you have called for DM to do it voluntarily. Do you really believe we should be dropping Yobo at this moment in time ?
We barely had enough midfield players against Benfica, yet although one is suspended, you want two of them dropped and the other on moved up front . . . then you want to drop our strikers ?
I understand your frustration but Moyes has no option but to persevere with one or two of our under performers. I agree with you about Gosling, I also think if we are to get anything out of Cahill he needs to be moved up top . . but we cant drop everyone.
The thing we lack more than anything else is confidence, the priceless belief that we wont be beaten. A heavy defeat today - and make no mistake, The Irons are on the rise, so that is a possibility - would be disastrous, especially with the games we have coming up.
I’d go to the Boleyn for a fight today, without Pienaar,Billy, Arteta and Anichebe we dont have players who can play wide, Ossie, Cahill and young Dan have proved that.
So lets narrow it up, make life difficult for W Ham, lets face it we cant get much uglier, Leave the back five where it is, ask Neil and Heitinger to be our "Dogs of war" dont forget the can both pass too, Fellaini must play, unfortunately so must young Jack, despite desperately needing a rest.
Cahill and the Yak up front.
a big BIG game,
IHSWR
Anyway, he should be sending his teams out to give their all, but that has not been happening, and that no-one can argue about, the confidence in the players is shot and it doesn’t help that Moyes seems pissed off all the time.
Buck stops with Moyes to get them up for it, but if he has gone stale then step aside and let someone else come in and have a go.
1) Bill Kenwright wants it to happen and he desperately hopes it will be given the go-ahead. The people who will make the decision belong to a political party that has received €255,000 in personal donations from Kenwright. (Why more has not been made of this... not a clue).
I’m NOT saying the money was given specifically to get the right decision for Kirkby. As it was ’donated’ in 2002, this would be almost impossible.
Plus it would suggest a level of foresight we KNOW Luvvie doesn’t possess (can you NOT possess a quality ’in spades’?). I DO however believe it was given to help secure the Kings Dock deal.
Remember: "But Mr Kenwright, whose donation was accepted by Labour on June 13 2002, said any suggestion that the payment was intended to secure special access or favours was ’nonsensical’" (IOS).
For me, if they give BK the decision he wants and don’t give the money back, the whole thing will be totally... er... ’Marcus’.
2) To get the go-ahead, a lot of rules and laws MUST to be broken and/or ignored. Anyone who followed the inquiry knows that if the laws and the rules ARE adhered to, the only answer is "Absofucking NO!".
Unfortunately, our fate is now in the hands of people who quite happy to claim for moat-cleaning, second homes they never lived in and...Kit-Kats.
God help us.
Why do supporters always become so melodramatic on this website? It really is pathetic to see so many people talking each other into this ever decreasing pile of self-indulgent drivel. It was only 8 games ago that we were on a good run playing some good football, however three players out (Neville, Pienaar and Baines) and we start slating the team, acting like we have always been crap. Well Baines is back, hopefully Pienaar will be soon and if we are lucky so will our leader on the pitch, Neville. At which point we will look back and laugh at this crappy spell that we are having.
I hope!!!
I don’t believe that we are suddenly going to start climbing the table with this lot and I’m very concerned that our three main men Arteta, Jags and Pienaar could be out for far longer than we would have expected. Make no mistake, the team will not improve until they are back and playing at their best. Without them we have little solidarity in defence and no guile going forward.
Don’t forget that there is no guarantee that they will return as the players they were. The Yak looks a shadow of the player he once was. Even if they do get back to their old form it will take time, time we may not have.
Still, look on the bright side: at least we will have some interest in avoiding relegation. Finishing 5th has hardly propelled the club forward has it? 5th from top or 5th from bottom, what difference does it make? We will still have no money to spend at the end of the season and avoiding the pigin' Europa League can only be a bonus, the red shite can take our place in that.
By the way, what has happened to Pienaar? It's all gone very quiet on the western front. I thought his injury was not as bad as first feared. Watch this space, I fear we are in for some more bad news when Everton decide to let us in on the secret. Come to think of it, it's all very quiet about him signing a new contract as well.
This term has seen a similar pattern emerge. Although we played reasonably well in the first half against Benfica we did have a few shaky moments at the back. Second half we were torn apart and the confidence drained away. Once again the defensive frailties totally undermined the confidence in the side with our midfield focussing on defending rather than getting forward and supporting the attack.
Distan in my opinion was a poor signing and his weaknesses were cruelly exposed by Benfica. All too often he was defending high up the park. I don’t have a problem with that except that if you play that way you’ve got to have the pace to recover when your hit on the break. We got away with it first half but failed to take heed of the warnings and got punished in the second period.
Our defensive failings together with Moyes insistence in playing players out of position is costing us big time. People are right to comment on Cahills loss of form but he’s been played out wide and at times as a defensive midfielder neither position plays to his strengths. Fellaini’s role is also subject to change which doesn’t do him any favours. As for Jo, yes he has been poor, but he seems to spend an awful lot of time out on the flanks. The result is often a disjointed affair with players unsure of their roles and confidence quickly draining away as soon as we conced. Moyes needs to start with his best eleven in their preferred positions and tinker only where we have no alternative cover. Until then I fear we will continue to struggle.
We are 3 points behind Liverpool and 5 behind the mighty Citteh, who everyone is raving about, all that with an injury list like never seen before, so perhaps you are being a tad over dramatic?
As of tonight, we are six points off fifth place with a game in hand and I do believe the worst of the season is behind us with probably a few more dips but expect the trend to be a gradual improvement. I wish I lived nearer Liverpool (I live in Ireland) as I would love to be part of any European night no matter what the result, be proud of watching the blues facing the likes of Saviola etc.. I think getting behind the team, the manager, and all things Everton, we will play our part.
Am very disappointed. Have read your posts before and thought you talked a lot of sense but shame you’ve fallen to the same knee jerk reaction as most others on this site.
Owen Lennon — agree with all you said.
We have Distin who, at first, appeared a good signing but he is now kicking the ball all over the place. We still have Hibbert and Osman when we have a ready replacement in Neill. And when Neill was bought on today I believe he was told to play in the midfield! The mind boggles.
I also believe that Moyes has taken us as far as possible. I am still baffled though when we play with a lone striker against teams we should be murdering. Teams like Wigan, Fulham, Stoke, Wolves etc, etc.
When it came to selecting Sunday's team. the only thing we agreed on was that Gosling should be dropped... then he bangs in the winner !
Warra we know ? Lol
Last season, even allowing for a poor start, we finished 9 points — or just 3 wins behind Arsenal. What could have happened if we had players like Fellaini from the start of the season?
Moyes made the same mistake in the 2009 close season. And whilst we haven’t got the same financial resources as the Sky 4 + Citeh, there were many players who were free agents/coming to the end of their contracts and loan players available.
The lack of activity in the summer transfer window was almost unforgiveable as, with the 4 long-term absentees, we had lost Valente, Castillo and Jacobsen. So, just to restore the numbers, we needed to bring in at least 7 players — before the season started.
So, let me see if I’ve got this straight about our current run of poor form and poor results.
.
It’s all David Moyes’s fault.
Oh, hang on, it’s all the fault of a bunch of underperforming, overpaid players.
No, bear with me, it’s really all Bill and the Board’s fault.
Actually, scratch all that because the one to blame is Steve Round.
Or Terry Leahy’s dastardly plan to drive us all to Hell in a handcart (aka Kirkby).
But back comes Christine to tell us all that the likelihood is that it’s a little bit of everything that’s to blame. However, according to Christine it’s still Moyes who needs to step up to the plate.
Erm, right.
Christine, I doubt there’s anyone connected with our club who’s actually enjoying watching us this season so far (and as someone who never misses a home game & goes to as many aways as possible, I think I know what I’m talking about) but there are mitigating circumstances for our performances.
It’s called an injury list that is the worst I can remember in nearly 35 years of watching us. Not specifically in terms of the sheer numbers who are out but moreover the quality of those currently running the physios off their feet.
I believe when this squad is fully fit then it will be the strongest we have had in years and we will be just fine and dandy. If I’m wrong, well, I’m wrong. But I don’t think I will be.
So, maybe, Christine, instead of Moyes having to step up to your proverbial plate, maybe it’s you who needs to take a step away from your keyboard and show a little more patience.
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1 Posted 07/11/2009 at 16:08:09
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Now I love Tim Cahill, and always will, but the person who needs dropping in that side right now is Cahill. If anybody in this team looks Championship standard at the moment, it is him.